By Will Johnson
Contributing Reporter
A renovation of Wingate Hall is scheduled to begin this summer.
A rotunda and eight new offices will be added to the back of Wingate to create space for the Divinity School.
Construction should be completed by January of next year.
The rotunda will extend from the back entrance to the sidewalk.
Plans allow the two giant oaks located behind Wingate to be incorporated into the design. The Divinity School indicated that it was important that the oaks remain.
The entrance to the rotunda will be lined with four Doric columns. Adjacent to the entrance will be the office of admissions and associate dean's office. A balcony on the second floor will circle the rotunda.
Scott Hudgins, the director of student recruitment, said that the existing facade of Wingate will be incorporated as the interior wall of the rotunda. He said it will be similiar to Stealey Hall at the old university campus.
Bill Leonard, the dean of the divinity school, said the rotunda will be beneficial to everyone in Wingate Hall. "The rotunda creates a welcoming area that can be used by the people of the whole building: religion, church and divinity school people."
He also mentioned the new dimension the rotunda brings to Wingate. "The rotunda will make Wingate Hall feel more like a whole building and not just the back of Wait Chapel," he said.
The new Divinity School will enroll classes of 35 to 45 students and will employ five permanent professors. Adjunct professors will be brought in by the Luce Foundation of New York. |